Lee wrote:Hi and welcome, sorry for the reason you are here.
I am a 15 yr survivor of rectal cancer. Gotta up date my signature line. There are many of us out there, many of us move on from this board, butt just know you can beat this.
I'm in the USA, hopefully you will get answers regarding the best hospitals in Germany. The one piece of advice, try and find a board certified "Colon Rectal Surgeon" vs a general surgeon. They have advance training and that can be important when dealing with rectal cancer.
Does colon cancer run in your family? If you have siblings, they too may want to get checked out.
Good luck, know that you are not alone here, and that we have all walked in your shoes. You will find a wealth of information on this forum.
Lee
jsbsf wrote:Jts,
I like Lee’s advice about finding a board certified Colon Rectal surgeon. I wouldn’t have thought about that on my own. My main feel is to get the tumor out. I want it gone yesterday.
. . . .
This site seems valuable for people like us just starting out on this frightening journey, and I’ll be spending a lot of time here hoping to update my signature for him with that NED like see so much. I wish you the best.
Jsb
jts wrote:Anyhow, I feel a little stuck. My extended family and long-term friends are in the US, but it's not like I can pop back over there and expect to get medical care. OTOH my job here is a temporary contract, and my residence here is contingent on my job. It's a tricky situation. I am really really hoping there is a period of stability after the surgery where I will be employable again.
jsbsf wrote:Jts,
He’s had this situation for about a year that when he gets stressed out, he needs to go to the bathroom. Stress has seemed to be a big factor in all this.
He’s been unusually fatigued and wants to go to sleep as early as 8pm for most of the past year. He’s lost about five pounds, but is a good weight. He stomach has been distended. It’s been this way for awhile, but I’ve lost track of how long.
I am also concerned about the quality of medical care, especially since my mother died from colon cancer in 2012 at 65 after a 10 year battle which started off with stage 3. We have Kaiser insurance. The sad part is I have had 3 colonoscopies because of my mom but couldn’t convince him to get his first. If we’d done this when he turned 50 like we were supposed to have, we probably wouldn’t be here.
Jsb
Rock_Robster wrote:Hi jts,
My situation was almost identical to yours, except replace Germany with the Netherlands, and the US with Australia. I chose to come home for treatment as all my family is here, my employer was happy to repatriate me, and I still had citizenship so coverage was fortunately no issue.
I don’t have a lot to add about Germany except to say that lots of overseas surgeons still get US colorectal board certification - my surgeon here has it, along with the UK (he trained at the Cleveland Clinic and St Mark’s). There may be surgeons in Germany that have done similar?
Viel gluck,
Rob
jts wrote:Rock_Robster wrote:Hi jts,
My situation was almost identical to yours, except replace Germany with the Netherlands, and the US with Australia. I chose to come home for treatment as all my family is here, my employer was happy to repatriate me, and I still had citizenship so coverage was fortunately no issue.
I don’t have a lot to add about Germany except to say that lots of overseas surgeons still get US colorectal board certification - my surgeon here has it, along with the UK (he trained at the Cleveland Clinic and St Mark’s). There may be surgeons in Germany that have done similar?
Viel gluck,
Rob
Thank you for the message. I'm not sure. When I search the ASCRS I find several doctors in Germany, but they seem to all belong to small clinics.The search form on the ABCRS does not have Germany as an option (it has about a dozen other non-US countries though). I am not sure yet which of those is the important one.
You mentioned in your other post that there's different treatment protocols in Europe vs the US for CR cancer. Yes, I would be very interested in that!
Thanks,
jts
Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 160 guests